Happiness - An Exercise

Sometimes life doesn't work out quite the way I expect.  In short, we were late to Alexandria's graduation.  I was mad.  Really mad.  As I read in The Artist's Way earlier this year, anger can consume you or drive you.  I used to let it consume me.  It's no good.  Living becomes miserable.  Now, sometimes anger acts to supercharge my engine.  Sometimes, fury gets me up a hill.  As I woke this morning, the sting of yesterday still stung.  I wrote.  It was still there.  Then I then remembered an exerise from The Artist's Way that I enjoyed - making lists.  Compiling a list of "things" can serve as a great reminder of what we have, what we can do, what we need, or how we can get somewhere.  This morning, I decided to create a visual reminder of things that make me happy, and why perpetual anger doesn't hold a candle to the bounty in my life.  In no particular order, here are some of the things that bring joy to my life.

family road trips  vacuumed carpeting  quiet  hot sun on my skin  a good swim  Alexandria's laugh  running effortlessly  new running shoes  Marcus's smile new workout clothes  early bedtimes  dancing  writing  compost piles  chicken coops  old dogs  rabbits  hanging flower baskets  paying bills on time  lots of moms at Stroller Fitness  holding babies  babies  a good, long sermon  church  warm cookies  my garden at dusk  good books  new books  fog  haircuts  generations  traditions  competition  races  sore muscles  jacuzzis  driving through farmland  road trips with Dave  Idaho  big puffy clouds over grassland  improv comedy  sketch comedy  being ridiculous with friends  S'mores  marshmallows  hot chocolate  fresh oatmeal  Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah"  God  Jesus Christ  French  France  tights skirts  making kids laugh  friendships  Buddha  sewing  gardening  baking  singing  praying  breathing  the underdog winning  cheese,wine, and apples  snack  music  ice cream  peanut butter  hot showers  vacation  the night before vacation  sunrise  sunset  trees  deserts  dessert carts  Pixar  claymation  Broadway  health  marriage  parenthood  my bed  car games with Dave  afternoon walks  school  clean sheets  cats 

And there is more.  Thinking of things begets thinking of more things.  The bounty overflows my brain.  There is too much right in the world to focus on what went wrong.  So what's on your list?